Badger Nation Alamo Bowl Stars of the Game

Ron Whitworth

12/29/2002

Here are Badger Nation's five stars of the game in Wisconsin's phenomenal Alamo Bowl victory over Colorado Saturday night.

1) Brooks Bollinger - Offensive Coordinator Brian White said it best following the game, when he said he hopes this is the memory that remains etched in Wisconsin fans' brains for eternity. This was classic Brooks Bollinger, doing everything in his power to will the Badgers to victory. He simply refused to lose his final game in a Wisconsin uniform. This was an unbelievable performance, and the perfect way for the winningest quarterback in school history to go out.

2) Brandon Williams - Williams is on the verge of becoming a star, and he showed the nation why Saturday night. He made a couple of crucial catches with the game on the line, and showed incredible poise for a true freshman. Big Ten Defensive Coordinators are going to have their hands full with UW's receiving corps next season.

3) Darrin Charles - Go back and read our story on Charles earlier this week. It was no secret that Charles was poised to have a huge game against Colorado. He went up and pulled down the biggest pass of the year to set UW up for the tying score with less than a minute remaining in the game. Charles had five catches for 67 yards and a touchdown.

4) Mike Allen -- Yet another young player came through when it counted the most. Allen didn't look fazed at all as he was being "iced" by Gary Barnett. And after a good-luck head butt from Tony Paciotti, he jogged onto the field and split the uprights for the 37-yarder that sent more than 10,000 Badger fans into a frenzy.

5) TIE: Jeff Mack and Anttaj Hawthorne -- Jeff Mack won the Defensive MVP Award and he certainly deserved it. Mack flew all over the field and made some huge plays. But my vote went to Hawthorne. How many times do you see a noseguard have eight tackles? He absolutely stuffed Chris Brown on several occasions, and was caving in the interior part of Colorado's offensive line with regularity.